Final Touch (I Think) on the Top Secret Project

The catalpa tree has just full-out bloomed and the flowers are already falling to the ground because of the darned wind. Grrrr!

After I wrote the post about Shanna’s gift, Debra suggested I miniaturize that sketch of Scout for the TSP. (Apologies to Debra, who I misidentified on Instagram! Sometimes I think I’ve got a name right…and it turns out I don’t.)

Since it was sort of a rainy day yesterday, I did a little work in the office.

Reduced and backed by some mat board.

Framed. I didn’t have any smallish, narrow pieces of wood on hand, so I made the frame from matchsticks, which I painted black.

I moved the Beatles poster over to the other side of the shelf unit. Scout should be above the desk, don’t you think? That way, mini Don can see her when he’s working.

A little closer.

Closest. I have to use my iPhone to get these close-ups. The big girl camera is too big to get inside the TSP.

I made two copies of this reduction. One is going to go in Hummingbird Cottage. I love seeing our girl in this mini space. Don will, too.

Thanks so much, Debra, for the idea.

While I was digging through storage bins looking for some wood, I came across the original box for one of my Petite Princess chests. I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing it.

Oh, excuse me. It was for the palace chest.

57¢. At S.S. Kresge, which used to be my favorite store when I was a kid. A true five and dime. There was one near our house and I loved to roam the aisles.

Really, Mom? You couldn’t fork out 57¢ to buy this for me? Here I was, thinking in the vast recesses of my memory, that Mom wouldn’t buy this stuff for me because it was too expensive.

Ahem. I think not. We’ll be discussing this someday, Mom, along with the question: What the heck did you do with my Barbie doll, Barbie case, Barbie car and my Tiny Tears doll? I need some answers.

Sweet Scout in the TSP…PERFECT! I know what happened to my Barbie’s and the house and the other toys…but I still wish I had them! Worked hard at Mom’s yesterday and now my back is sore…whoops! Taking a good break today.
hugs,
Linda

I never even had a Barbie doll! My girls insisted on saving their Barbies, so they are all wrapped and stored in the garage. One day, someone will unearth a couple of dozen skinny dolls dressed as princesses, many, many Disney princesses….. And nary a Ken to be seen….he was donated right away when I told them to clean out their rooms.

I loved seeing the Kresge’s price tag. Going there with my mother was such a treat. They had dozens of parakeets, which you could hear all over the store. And those tiny live turtles, remember? Kresge’s evolved into what is now K-Mart, by the way.

What a fun memory! I’d completely forgotten about turtles and parakeets! The turtles were so tiny, yes! What I always seem to remember is the goldfish and how upset I’d be if I saw a dead one floating at the top. They had all that at the rear of the store. For us, it was a store called Grant’s. We had a similar one on the other side of town called Cornet. Woolworth’s was on Main Street but I can scarcely remember it. They must have left town when I was still quite young. I do SO much miss puttering in those stores. I think we’ve talked about it here on the blog before. I never liked big box stores even when I was young…the early shopping malls (in SoCalif, they were open-air malls; I don’t think any are left now but JC Penney was on one end of the mall; Joseph Magnin and The Broadway in the 1960s; I did like The Broadway, but that was about the only one, for me)…and the 5 & Dime stores were just the right size. Enjoyable shopping without getting too weary! I recently decided to explore if I can pick up embroidery again…I’m missing a craft/hobby and my vision isn’t what it was (and my hands are arthritic) but I pushed ahead and got my hoops, needles, threads and a pattern…and finding things to buy on Amazon (no stores near me for this kind of product) wasn’t nearly as fun as going to Grant’s and sifting through the white cloths which were already pre-printed; was so fun as a young girl (I was maybe 11 or 12) to pick out my next pattern to embroider. I’m lucky I have many pillowslips and dishtowels lovingly embroidered by grandmas, aunties and my mother; just love having them. Mother also embroidered many of my infant/newborn clothes which thankfully she did keep. She’d said she whiled away many an evening waiting for my dad to come home from the war in the 40s by embroidering things to put in her hope chest, knowing they’d soon be married when the war was over. Poignant…

Oh, whoa, do I hear you on our childhood stuff. First, I think we have to consider that fifty cents probably bought a couple (or five) cans of soup and our moms were Depression-era moms, practicality over frivolity. It makes sense, since they made clothes for themselves and us (instead of procuring store-bought clothes), why my mom painstakingly made clothes for my DOLL rather than buying Barbie fashions but, you know, ungrateful little girl that I was, the homemade stuff was second rate for me; I wanted the real thing. My fold-up Barbie Dream House from 1964, my Barbie closet, my Barbie/Midge/Skipper and all the clothes, homemade and not, all got sold and I could never get a good answer out of her although I think it was a sort of naivete about their worth, as Barbies were common…I’d outgrown them, Mom liked to score money from the newfangled concept of a ‘garage’ sale, and I’m also sure she shared the money with me…but, who can remember. I was a teenager by then.

Love what you did with Scout’s image. Perfect. So creative. Matchsticks!

I know nothing about this Petite Princess line by Ideal. Share more! I’m sure it’s like the Barbie clothes of the day; amazing quality.

Don’t feel too badly about your Tiny Tears doll. I played with my doll SO HARD. I have her, but she’s battered. Over the many years, Mother kept her in the cedar chest but there must have been lingering dampness in her ‘body’ because the plastic/vinyl of her face is irreversibly marred and she looks like FrankenTears. I don’t think it’s fixable and I will probably make the hard decision to pitch her one of these days. (I do have some precious outfits for her made for me by my grandmother, who I can barely remember as she died when I was only age 8; these clothes are exquisite.) This is what happened to a lot of the old Barbies, Claudia. That plastic composition did weird things over time; kind of a shiny/smeary appearance and, if they had earrings, there’s often a permanent greenish bleed from them on a vintage doll. In retrospect, we might still have our Barbies but they also might be looking pretty ugly by now. And what I’ve learned is that outfits are usually incomplete…we loved and played with our Barbies; there would be missing shoes and accessories, no doubt. But I’ve found photos of my old Dream House online and, wow, how fun, to remember what they looked like; how content I was with cardboard furniture. Wouldn’t mean a whole lot to the kids of today. They expect more sophistication.

Well, your post soothed me after reading headlines and learning first thing at the start of the day of yet again another mass shooting (Florida) which frankly left me nauseous. We all ask, ‘How can this continue”…but it always does. You shouldn’t have to think about dangers of gathering in a large group for fear of a shooter.

I had two Tiny Tears dolls. The last one was a gift right at the end of my childhood years. I wanted to keep her into adulthood. My grandmother made beautiful clothes for her. I vividly remember a pink corduroy coat and hat. And she was given away or something. And she was in pristine shape.

Oh, the loss of that unmarred Tiny Tears! You’ve checked with your sis in Florida, of course…

I’m puzzled about something. After a reader leaves a reply here on your blog, there’s a box you can check that says “Notify me of follow-up comments by email”. I’ve always had this box checked. And it’s checked right now. However, I’m getting nothing in my email inbox from you as per the usual. I’d thought, “That’s funny; Claudia always dutifully and politely responds; her answer is always here in my email box!” I then go back to your blog, and you’ve provided your usual nice answer on the blog, so? Again, I’m puzzled. Has anyone else said anything? Or is it some problem with my email all of a sudden, I’m wondering. I checked spam/junk and you’re not mysteriously going there. Thoughts? Very out of the norm. You and I have been ‘talking’ back and forth for a long time now. I’ve never had to go back to the blog to see if you answered, so this is WEIRD.

Well, I don’t know. As it happens, I haven’t been getting all the comments you guys make in my email, either. That’s been going on for about two weeks. So something’s up. I’ve spoken to my host about it, and they show the comments being sent to my email and accepted, but I only see a few. If the same thing is happening to you – well, I just don’t know. And to tell you the truth, I’m really tired of trying to figure it out. It’s always worked and now it doesn’t. Interestingly, I DID get this comment of yours in my email.

That “Scout” now has a permanent place in the TSP is just perfect. So fitting – what a great idea. Made me think – maybe Caroline needs a pet too. Perhaps an affectionate rescue kitty who’ll follow her from room to room as she goes about her day. As my Mom said after she had her new cat for a few weeks, “It’s so nice to have another heartbeat around the house…” Cats are such great pets for working people like Caroline too. No worries about getting home by a certain time to let them out, etc. All they need is a clean litter box, food, water and a cozy sleeping spot. Oh and a few fun toys too, to keep them from shredding the toilet paper to bits, of course. 🐱

The Little Scout is the perfect finishing touch to the TSP and really personalizes the space as mini-Don’s. He’ll love it. And the Petite Princess furniture? I had never heard of it until reading about it here but now I have something new to find in the flea markets. I have never seen a piece “in person.” Thank you for sharing the dollhouses with us, and I’m already getting excited about your new project.

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband and dog. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating. My decorating style is eclectic but if I had to call it anything, I'd call it Christmas in Connecticut, after all those forties movies with comfy cottage style.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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